Inside sources expose a small group of high-level bureaucrats within the State Department and the CIA that have been sabotaging the Trump-Pence White House directive on efforts for the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been jailed in Turkey due to his alleged connection to Gulen Network's failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016.

A small group of high-level bureaucrats within the State Department and the CIA has been sabotaging the Trump-Pence White House directive on efforts for the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been jailed in Turkey due to his alleged connection to Gulen Network's failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016.

A senior-level Newsbud source currently with the State Department provided the following information on the condition of anonymity:

There is a small group of high-level bureaucrats within the department who’s been sabotaging the White House- Turkish government’s negotiation process towards the release of Brunson. In an internal memorandum within the department the group claimed that for our long-term objectives the continued imprisonment of Brunson would provide more effective ammunition to be used against Erdogan on Human Rights grounds ... While his release would provide little to no gain during this critical stage in Syria. You are basically looking at a group that is operating and acting in direct defiance of the President’s directive.

Andrew Brunson is an evangelical pastor of the Izmir Resurrection Church, a small Protestant church in Turkey, who was arrested in the purges occurring in the aftermath of the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt. Brunson, 48, who was applying for permanent Turkish residency, having lived there 23 years, was imprisoned on October 7, 2016, accused of being a member of the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government considers a terrorist organization. The charges were later amended to include spying and attempting to overthrow the government. To this date Newsbud has not been able to obtain any formal documents pertaining to evidence in Brunson's arrest and imprisonment.

According to the White House, President Trump has raised the case of Brunson at every opportunity with Mr. Erdogan, including a meeting in September 2017, when Trump hailed his counterpart as a good friend.

Speaking to police officers last September, President Erdogan virtually offered to send Pastor Brunson home if the American authorities would turn over Cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of fomenting the failed coup attempt in July 2016- it is his movement to which Brunson is alleged to be linked. According to Reuters, Erdogan declared:

“Give us the pastor back,’ they say. You have one pastor as well. Give him (Gulen) to us…Then we will try him (Brunson) and give him to you….The (pastor) we have is on trial. Yours is not—he is living in Pennsylvania. You can give him easily. You can give him right away. ”

Brunson's case has been called a priority for President Trump's White House, with Vice President Mike Pence communicating directly with Brunson's family.

In May 2017 Trump raised Brunson’s incarceration when he met with President Erdogan, and requested that the Turkish government “expeditiously” return Brunson to the United States. During the meeting Trump discussed “how to further strengthen the deep and diverse relationship between our two countries,” and reiterated the commitment of the United States to the security of our NATO ally Turkey, and the need to work together to confront terrorism in all its forms.

Christian leaders have applauded President Trump and Vice President Pence for defending the imprisoned pastor and working with President Erdogan towards a expeditious diplomatic solution for the Pastor’s release.

Dr. Ronnie Floyd, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, made the following remark in praise of the White House effort:

I thank God we have an administration that cherishes the freedom of religion as our founders hoped we would," he continued. "I join with millions of others in prayer for the swift release of Pastor Brunson from his Turkish prison.

In November 2017 Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Vice President Pence discussed the fate of Brunson in a tone that indicated progress towards resolving the issue. “We want the concerns we have regarding the cases of our citizens arrested in the United States to be eased. They (U.S. officials) also have similar requests, and diplomatic channels are being used for discussions, we are both seeking a way out," Yildirim said.

Now, with both President Trump and Turkish President Erdogan making it clear they want to downplay differences and boost U.S.-Turkish relations, and their willingness to work towards resolving Brunson’s case, what seems to be the impediment? There seems to be a hint in a statement made by analyst Gonul Tol of the Middle East Institute:

…even if personally Erdogan and Trump would like to resolve problems, I think because of the wider perception of Turkey here in Washington, it is very difficult for Trump to take steps and avoid that general consensus in Washington, D.C.

We have the White House, both Trump and Pence, eager and willing to work this case out with the Turkish government. The Turkish government appears to share the same objective. Of course, the majority of Americans want to see the Pastor released and returned home safely, and do not consider a non-US citizen, radical cleric Gulen, a treasure worth continuation of Brunson’s imprisonment and losing an important US ally. Then who are the entities in Washington D.C. creating the impediment?

According to our source, the defiant State Department group’s position opposing the Pastor’s release is directly supported by the CIA:

In fact for its perceived strategic advantage CIA would rather see the elimination of the imprisoned pastor while in Turkish jail, whether organic or not … It is about creating a world-political- theater pinning the murder on Turkish government ... to portrait Erdogan as a Torturer and murderer of a Christian minister ... look, they have played this script more than a few times in the past. It has always worked.

In response to the story, when asked by Newsbud, John Kiriakou, former CIA analyst and case officer, and senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the following observation:

Going against the President’s directive on efforts in Pastor Brunson’s case would constitute a clear case of insubordination.

According to Michael Springmann, who served as a diplomat in the State Department's Foreign Service, with postings in Germany, India and Saudi Arabia: “This very well may be an ideological rebellion by certain State Department career bureaucrats against Trump and his administration”

When asked about the CIA’s alleged stand on this Kiriakou commented,

The CIA should never weigh in on cases like this … This is, and should be, outside the CIA’s scope of operations … The U.S. government has handled many, and by that I mean many, cases of negotiating and seeing through US citizens’ release from foreign nations’ prisons. It is never in the interest of Americans or the US government to have this kind of approach-leaving an American incarcerated… Not only that, if true, this would constitute an egregious violation of Pastor Brunson’s human rights by the State Department … if I were his attorneys I’d take the case to the U.S. Congress and demand an expedited investigation.

Mr. Springmann, based on his career-long experiences with the CIA while serving as a diplomat, stated:

Look, State Department and the CIA are evil twins-Siamese twins joined at the hip. Am I appalled? Yes. But I can’t say I’m shocked or surprised that the State Department (with the CIA setting the tone) would readily sacrifice an American, in this case Pastor Brunson, jailed in Turkey, and disregard Americans’ best interest, for its own ulterior and dark motives.

On her joint Facebook account with her husband-Pastor Andrew Brunson, Norine Brunson posted the following comment on September 16, 2017:

Thank you for continuing to stand with us for Andrew's release! President Trump and President Erdogan are due to meet sometime next week. May our case come up and find favor. Please pray that President Erdogan would use the authority he was given by a new decree (694) to return prisoners to their home countries on Andrew's behalf!

So far Newsbud has not been able to reach Norine Brunson for comment.

While the mainstream media coins this case “a pawn in a spat between America and Turkey”, when delved deeper the case seems to be neither about the Trump-Pence Whitehouse nor Erdogan’s administration, nor the interest of Americans or Turks. It appears the main impediment to facilitating the Pastor’s release is a small special-interests-motivated rogue group within the State Department and the CIA, in defiance of not only a Presidential directive but also in violation of human rights.

*Newsbud will continue coverage of this case in coming days.

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Sibel Edmonds is editor and publisher of Newsbud, founder and president of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC), and author of the acclaimed books Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story, and The Lone Gladio, a Political Spy Thriller. She has appeared on national radio and TV as a commentator on matters related to whistleblowers, national security, and excessive secrecy & classification. She is the recipient of the 2006 PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award. Ms. Edmonds is a certified linguist, fluent in four languages, and has an MA in public policy from George Mason University and a BA in criminal justice and psychology from George Washington University.

Newsbud Founder and Editor Sibel Edmonds is joined by Investigative Journalist Whitney Webb to discuss Webb’s recent three-part investigative report exposing billionaire founder of the Intercept- Pierre Omidyar. Webb delves deep into Omidyar’s long-ongoing multi-billion dollar partnership with government agencies, including the CIA and NSA, questionable coincidences and ties between Omidyar-Snowden, Glenn Greenwald’s hushed contract and arrangements with Omidyar to privatize Snowden’s 500+K page leak, Freedom of Press Foundation’s betrayal of Wikileaks’ Julian Assange, and much more. Do not miss this explosive interview exposing the new trend in intercepting and neutralizing whistleblowers and their information.

This is an urgent news announcement by Newsbud, based on information received from carefully vetted sources both inside and outside the United States.

Radical Cleric Gulen’s Network, CIA’s long-term proxy for Gladio B false flag terror operations, has issued an action order to its top operatives (aka senior lieutenants) in Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Latvia. These operatives are to act as agent provocateurs- to create violence and terror incidents to be blamed on Uyghurs, an ethnic minority in China’s Xinjiang region, and by doing so, incite the Chinese government to respond with force.

As a leading independent media organization Newsbud is releasing and disseminating this urgent announcement now in an attempt to help prevent further terror incidents and carnage. Please do your share and help us disseminate this information.

In this edition of Probable Cause Newsbud Founder and Editor Sibel Edmonds is joined by Douglas Valentine, author of several non-fiction books, one novel, and one volume of poetry. He has lectured and appeared on TV and radio talk shows, testified as an expert witness, served as a documentary film consultant and worked as a private investigator. His most recent book is The CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World. Edmonds and Valentine discuss the influence and operations of the CIA abroad and domestically, while controlling the Media. The full one hour plus interview is available exclusively for members at Newsbud.com or you can watch it now at Newsbud Vimeo on Demand.

Newsbud founder and editor Sibel Edmonds is joined by Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Timothy Ferner. They discuss their journeys as whistleblowers and the obstacles they faced, including retaliation they received that ultimately cost them their careers, while standing for truth and integrity. The full one-and-a-half-hour interview is exclusively available at Newsbud.com for members. Nonmembers can watch it now, at Newsbud Vimeo on Demand.

Newsbud founder and editor Sibel Edmonds is joined by Newsbud Senior Analyst Pye Ian in this two part, special report. The two Iran experts, Edmonds and Ian, examine recent developments in the civil unrest in Iran, providing historical background and context necessary for a full and complete understanding of the often complicated and ever changing geopolitical chess board. Do not miss this in-depth, two-part special report available exclusively for members at Newsbud.com Or you can watch it now at Newsbud Vimeo on Demand.

Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab, who is also involved in Special Counsel Mueller's investigation, has been released from federal prison and given immunity, and will be the star witness at a trial over a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran. Federal prosecutors in New York will have Zarrab on the stand on Wednesday to testify against his former co-defendant, Turkish bank executive Mehmet Atilla.

In this episode of Probable Cause Sibel Edmonds presents two main factors driving the direction of the Zarrab case- both of which are absent from the agenda-driven mainstream and pseudo-alternative media outlets. Edmonds discusses Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s role and targets in the case, and delves into the backward deal- aka an upside-downdeal, the US prosecutors have given Zarrab-the Kingpin, in the Gold-for-Gas case, in return for his testimony against the low-level accomplices.

Join Sibel Edmonds in this Newsbud exclusive for the most comprehensive analysis in the case of Reza Zarrab, the high-profile people closely involved- from President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Mukasey and Robert Mueller, to President Erdogan and major Turkish bankers, and the likely manipulation of the case with serious implications for two presidents. Anticipation is building from Turkey to the US about potential explosive revelations in this Zarrab case, which has been shrouded in mystery and filled with surprises.

Newsbud is in a unique position to provide full-spectrum coverage unlike any other news site - with its in-house language and analysis expertise, and national and international sources. Our work is only made possible by your support. Currently we have our end-of-year fundraiser. We are counting on your donations. Please support this amazing news organization where media integrity matters. Thank You All, For Newsbud, I am Sibel Edmonds.

FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds exposes Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s conflict of interest in pursuing General Michael Flynn’s case due to his direct involvement as former FBI Director and his role in covering up and protecting Gulen Networks’ criminal operations within the United States, and demands that he steps down.

General Michael Flynn, Former National Security Advisor to President Trump, is being investigated by Special Counsel for accepting legitimate payments from Turkish companies for researching and exposing Wanted Terrorist and Radical Islamist Fethullah Gulen and his $25+ Billion criminal network in the United States.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is Special Counsel in charge of the case. He is the same Robert Mueller who used his position as Director of the FBI to shield and cover up Gulen’s criminal-terrorist network and operations, and take drastic measures to quash a whistleblower’s Gulen-related reports. These previous connections and actions by Mr. Mueller create a direct conflict of interest with his current position as Special Counsel in Flynn’s case, and require that he must immediately step down from the case.

………………………………………..

In May 2017 the Justice Department appointed Robert S. Mueller III, a former F.B.I. director, as special counsel to oversee the investigation into ties between President Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.

Not long after being appointed Mr. Mueller began targeting former national security adviser Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn, expanded the investigation beyond the Russia-Gate probe, and began a furious pursuit of Mr. Flynn’s Turkish connections and his vocal stand on the wanted radical Islamic Cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Mr. Mueller’s inquiries went from Russia-connections to Flynn’s outing of Gulen’s twenty five-billion-dollar sleeper terror cell in the United States. Not finding any substantial evidence against Flynn within the Russia-Gate scope, the Special Counsel team switched gears and started a Turkey-Gate. During the past several months Mr. Mueller’s prosecutors have used multiple grand juries to issue subpoenas for documents related to Mr. Flynn. All this despite President Trump’s demand that:

Mr. Mueller should confine his investigation to the narrow issue of Russia’s attempts to disrupt last year’s presidential campaign, not conduct an expansive inquiry into the finances of Mr. Trump or his associates.

Mr. Mueller’s prosecution team and F.B.I. agents have spent hours going over the details of Mr. Flynn’s perfectly legitimate business dealings with a Turkish-American businessman who worked with Mr. Flynn’s consulting business, the Flynn Intel Group. Why? Because the business arrangements included research for and exposure of the world’s largest radical Islamist network, operating in the United States for over two decades- the Gulen Network.

The targeting of Mr. Flynn through consolidated Obama Whitehouse leaks and one-sided media attacks began six months prior to the Special Counsel appointment. It started with an editorial penned by Mr. Flynn on November 8, 2016, when he became the first public official to unabashedly expose the radical cleric long protected by multiple government agencies- the CIA, State Department and FBI, starting under President Bill Clinton’s administration:

The primary bone of contention between the U.S. and Turkey is Fethullah Gülen, a shady Islamic mullah residing in Pennsylvania whom former President Clinton once called his “friend” in a well circulated video.

Gülen portrays himself as a moderate, but he is in fact a radical Islamist. He has publicly boasted about his “soldiers” waiting for his orders to do whatever he directs them to do. If he were in reality a moderate, he would not be in exile, nor would he excite the animus of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government.

…

To professionals in the intelligence community, the stamp of terror is all over Mullah Gülen’s statements in the tradition of Qutb and al Bana. Gülen’s vast global network has all the right markings to fit the description of a dangerous sleeper terror network. From Turkey’s point of view, Washington is harboring Turkey’s Osama bin Laden.

…

However, funding seems to be no problem for Gülen’s network. Hired attorneys work to keep the lucrative government source of income for Gülen and his network going. Influential charities such as Cosmos Foundation continue their support for Gulen’s charter schools. Incidentally, Cosmos Foundation is a major donor to Clinton Foundation. No wonder Bill Clinton calls Mullah Gülen “his friend.”

By writing and publishing this strong commentary Lt. General Flynn not only took on the enormously powerful Gulen’s terrorist network, but also the wrath of the CIA and the FBI, the Intelligence and law enforcement agencies tasked with bringing Gulen into the United States in 1998, his grooming, and his ongoing protection for over two decades.

FBI Director Mueller & the Gulen Case Cover-Up

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was directly involved in quashing and covering up Gulen and Gulen Network related cases within the FBI’s Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence and White-Collar Crime divisions. The dossiers and mountains of criminal and espionage evidences on Gulen’s network resided in multiple FBI field offices, with the FBI’s Washington D.C., Chicago, and New Jersey Field Offices being the three most important investigative centers on the case.

Mr. Mueller was the primary official responsible for the invocation of the State Secrets Privilege, gag orders and retroactive classification of congressional records in my case, the Sibel Edmonds Case, a large part of which pertained to criminal, terrorism and espionage related operations conducted by Fethullah Gulen and his Networks in the United States.

Gulen’s money laundering and terrorism-related operations have been known to the FBI for two decades. It was only after the attempted coup in Turkey that some of these facts began surfacing in the mainstream media:

Over the past two decades, Gulen’s Turkish followers have opened up taxpayer-funded charter schools in the U.S. Some parents have expressed concern about the connection to the Gulen movement, while others don’t seem to mind. But CBS News has learned the FBI is investigating whether Gulen’s followers have skimmed money from those schools in order to fund his movement in Turkey. A senior State Department official believes Gulen-linked charities and educational institutions in the U.S. look “a lot like the ways in which organized crime sets itself up... to hide money for money laundering.”

…

Based on information provided by Emanet, federal investigators believe former officials at his Ohio school illegally paid themselves about $5 million in federal contracts and then sent those U.S. tax dollars to Bank Asya, a bank in Turkey linked to Gulen’s followers.

In March of 2016 the following report erased any doubts about Gulen’s terrorist and criminal activities in the US - spanning over two decades:

Living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, with a net worth of around $25 billion, Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen has catalyzed a global movement of charter schools from Africa to Latin America into the United States. Building private schools in over 180 countries around the world, the global Gülen movement has paved the way for the largest U.S. charter school network with more than 140 schools in some 26 states.

What lies underneath this charter-school network, however, is a possible undercurrent of white-collar crime and corruption. Known in Turkey as the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization or FETÖ this growing network is being investigated by the FBI for everything from fraud and malpractice, to misuse of public funds. One spokeswoman for the bureau said that an investigation is ongoing and FBI agents carried out raids at 19 Gülen-affiliated charter schools in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio in 2014.

…

Diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks demonstrate a concern by U.S. officials that these Turkish teachers and businesses “might be using the reputation of the school as a cover to get to the U.S.” These cables state that the H1B visa applications were “not convincing” and that Gülen’s more moderate message “cloaks a more sinister and radical agenda.”

…

Receiving approximately $150 million a year in tax breaks and subsidies, government officials are increasingly concerned that taxpayer dollars are being used to fund a close-knit network of Turkish teachers and businesses using charter schools as a Trojan horse for embedding into the U.S. education system.

In March 2016, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Wesley Clark went on record and stated that the United States has become a part of Turkey's problems for letting Fethullah Gülen, who is wanted in Turkey, stay in the U.S. Clark went on adding that he found it strange how Gulen has been allowed to remain and operate in the United States:

We are even part of that. One of the most wanted people in Turkey is a man named Gülen, a former ally of President Erdoğan, who is in the United States, running a network of charter schools subsidized by the United States. Very strange," he added.

Documents from Wikileaks has shown that American officials have been worried Gülen could be targeting children across the U.S. through running over 125 Gülen charter schools in 25 states:

In 2005, one U.S. embassy worker expressed concern about the schools: “We have multiple reliable reports that the Gülenists use their school network (including dozens of schools in the U.S.) to cherry pick students they think are susceptible to being molded as proselytizers,” U.S. Embassy officials in Ankara said in a 2005 report. And we have steadily heard reports about how the schools indoctrinate boarding students,” they said.”

Despite the publication of mounting criminal evidence against Gulen’s operations, to this date the FBI has continued shielding this terrorist:

The Chicago Sun-Times reports on Concept Schools, a charter school network in the Midwest funded by the Gülen movement. Though an ongoing FBI investigation has found the schools divert Illinois taxpayer dollars to Gülen-affiliated contractors, the Concept network continues to receive government funds:

Days after federal agents swept into the headquarters of Concept Schools and a charter school it operates in Rogers Park in June 2014, top Chicago Public Schools officials took notice of the raids on the taxpayer-funded charter operator but decided to steer clear.

More than two years since the FBI raids brought the still-ongoing federal investigation involving Concept to light, the charter operator has continued to do business with contractors identified in court documents as allegedly having been involved in defrauding a government grant program, records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show.

As the longest serving FBI Director, Mr. Mueller was in charge of the FBI’s investigations and pursuit of Gulen and his network for eleven years. During his tenure he not only continued the same policy and practices of his predecessors in shielding and protecting Gulen’s criminal network, he went even further by quashing and covering up reports and cases involving Gulen’s terrorist-criminal-espionage operations through retaliations, invocation of the State Secrets Privilege, and hindering Congressional oversight and investigations through retroactive classification.

Mr. Mueller, due to his direct involvement as former FBI Director and his role in covering up and protecting Gulen Networks’ criminal operations within the United States, by shutting down pertinent FBI investigative operations and by transferring certain terrorism related Gulen files to the counterintelligence division, has a major conflict of interest as Special Counsel targeting Flynn’s case as it pertains to exposing the Gulen network and his relationship with Turkish entities sharing the same interest in exposing and extraditing Fethullah Gulen. Thus, Mr. Mueller must step down from his position as Special Counsel in this case- a case targeting and probing Lt. General Michael Flynn.

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Sibel Edmonds is editor and publisher of Newsbud, founder and president of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC), and author of the acclaimed book Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story, and The Lone Gladio, a Political Spy Thriller. She has appeared on national radio and TV as a commentator on matters related to whistleblowers, national security, and excessive secrecy & classification. She is the recipient of the 2006 PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award. Ms. Edmonds is a certified linguist, fluent in four languages, and has an MA in public policy from George Mason University and a BA in criminal justice and psychology from George Washington University.

As a language specialist for three languages, including Turkish and Farsi, and with Top Secret Security Clearance, Sibel Edmonds began working for the FBI’s Washington Field Office in September 2001.

Between December 2001 and March 2002, Edmonds reported serious criminal conduct and related cover ups within the FBI. Edmonds took her reports to the FBI HQ OPR Unit, DOJ-Inspector General’s Office, and later the Senate Judiciary Committee.

After her termination, Sibel Edmonds’ reports were confirmed by the FBI in unclassified briefings to Congress, and by a Justice Department’s Inspector General Report.

In May 2004, the Justice Department retroactively classified Edmonds' briefings, as well as the FBI briefings, and forced Members of Congress who had the information posted on their Web sites to remove the documents.

The remarkable act of retroactive classification exemplifies a dangerous abuse of secrecy by the government regarding Edmonds' case. At least two Senators, Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), publicly supported Edmonds and pushed the Justice Department to declassify at least some of its investigation into her dismissal.

In March 2002 she reported several problems inside the FBI, including certain sensitive cases being covered up and certain employees with highly questionable alliances. Upon formally reporting criminal conduct and related cover-ups she was retaliated against, and ultimately fired within a few weeks - in April 2002.

In June 2002 Senators Grassley and Leahy wrote the Justice Department Inspector General asking specific questions about Edmonds' allegations, stating that the FBI had confirmed many of Edmonds’ allegations in unclassified briefings. This letter was later retroactively classified in May 2004.

In July 2002 Edmonds filed a lawsuit to challenge the FBI's retaliatory actions.

In August 2002 Senator Leahy wrote Attorney General John Ashcroft, asking for a speedy and thorough investigation of Edmonds' case. This letter was later retroactively classified in May 2004. The investigation was not completed for another two years, and then classified.

In May 2004 the Justice Department retroactively classified Edmonds' briefings to Senators Grassley and Leahy in 2002, as well as FBI briefings regarding Edmonds’ allegations.

In June 2004 the Project on Government Oversight filed suit against the Justice Department and Attorney General Ashcroft, saying the retroactive classification violated the organization's First Amendment rights.

In July 2004 a Justice Department investigation into Edmonds' dismissal was completed, but was classified. The report found that Edmonds' allegations of corruption within the FBI ""were at least a contributing factor" in her dismissal.

In July 2004 Judge Reggie Walton in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed Edmonds' lawsuit, relying on the government's States Secrets Privilege.

In January 2005 the ACLU filed a brief urging the D.C. Court of Appeals to reinstate the Edmonds' case, saying that the government is abusing the ""State Secrets Privilege"" to silence employees who expose national security blunders. Oral argument was scheduled for April 21, 2005.

In January 2005 the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General released an unclassified summary of its investigation into Edmonds' termination. The report concluded that Edmonds was fired for reporting serious security breaches and misconduct in the agency's translation program, and that many of her allegations were supported.

In August 2005 the ACLU filed Edmonds’ case with the Supreme Court. The ACLU also asked the Supreme Court to reverse the D.C. appeals court's decision to exclude the press and public from the court hearing of Edmonds' case in April. The appeals court had closed the hearing at the eleventh hour without any specific findings that secrecy was necessary.

An investigative journalist was just assassinated in Malta with a car bomb. Media outlets are reporting this murder may be politically driven, and is only limited to Malta, but there is much more to this story as this journalist was getting too close to something much bigger, Operation Gladio B.

In January of 2013, following his suicide, Aaron Swartz’s family and partner released an official statement declaring his death more than a mere personal tragedy. They claim, “It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach”. The statement also lauds Swartz’s efforts as, “instrumental to the defeat of an internet censorship bill; he fought for a more democratic, open and accountable political system”.[i] It is in that spirit of press freedom and accountable government, and in honor of Aaron Swartz that I write this article.

Continuing the Legacy

The efforts of Swartz and the scores of whistleblowers and journalists before him, and since, have shined a spotlight on the brazenly lawless and inept bureaucracies that govern our nation from the shadows.[ii][iii] Once untouchable, these institutions of unaccountable centralized power are decaying from within, despite the best efforts of their corporate media lapdogs to polish their thin veneer of legitimacy. [iv][v]

While most journalists, like frogs in a slowly boiling pot of water, still yield to the ever increasing demands of illegitimate authorities, becoming themselves lapdogs of the establishment, Barrett Brown has stood by his principles, challenging the unconstitutional mandates of those powers that shouldn’t be, and blowing on their precious little house of cards. These actions, are not without consequence, however. To quote Beatrice Edwards, Senior International Policy Analyst of the Government Accountability Project, “The first thing corrupt institutions do when they’re threatened by the truth is distract attention from the message by shooting the messenger”.[vi][vii]

As a young man of 18, Brown began his career as a freelance writer, eventually landing a gig with Vanity Fair magazine. It is here, as a magazine writer, that brown received his inoculating dose of disillusionment. He saw, throughout the industry, useful idiots and establishment hacks like Thomas Friedman not only commanding audiences of millions, but winning Pulitzers, while talented writers and reporters critical of US Government policies, such as Glenn Greenwald, were relegated to smaller niche audiences, away from the spotlight.[viii][ix]

No sooner had Barrett Brown’s disillusionment set in than he began challenging and attacking those morally bankrupt cronies of the media establishment and their propaganda. In the same spirit of openness that guided Aaron Swartz, and driven by contempt for the failure of the press to uphold any standard of information integrity, in 2009, Brown, with the help of various bloggers, journalists and scientists, embarked on a project to establish a mechanism of accountability in media and government, what he called a “distributed think tank”, known as Project PM.[x][xi] [READ MORE]

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In this exclusive investigative report, Newsbud uncovers the Deep State entities involved in concocting the Flynn scandal and Gulen-Gate, how these interests and groups colluded and conspired and used their media tentacles to bring down a National Security Advisor, and how this operation is geared to pave the way to impeach the Trump presidency. We also present an exclusive interview with the man at the center of the Flynn scandal, Ibrahim Kurtulus, among other experts.